Notre Dame Football Recruiting Update: Sebastian LaRue
By Nick Combs
Dec 17, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head football coach Brian Kelly addresses the media at the Notre Dame BCS national championship media day at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
He de-committed from USC, which has been a trend as of late and now is considering Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Washington State, and USC. LaRue said that USC isn’t out of the race, but it doesn’t look like they will get the recruit back to Southern California to play next fall. I have been wondering why so many players have been leaving the Trojans for other schools. Their disappointing season is one and the fact they have been hit by the NCAA with sanctions multiple times, which affects their scholarships. Where does LaRue fit? Many people like him at Notre Dame for a couple of reasons. When you look at the receivers that Notre Dame is recruiting and have coming back they are missing the typical slot receiver that is quick, but can still go up and get the football. LaRue is still only in high school, but he is compared to one of my favorite Notre Dame receivers in Golden Tate. Texas A&M doesn’t seem to be an option since they have already loaded up with 35 recruits and have 5 wide receivers and multiple athletes that could end up playing wide receiver. It doesn’t seem logical for him to be an Aggie. Washington State is an option in that he would probably play all four years, but will he go to a BCS bowl or any bowl for that matter? It looks like it will come down to USC and Notre Dame. Notre Dame is trending and after a terrific regular season they are starting to turn heads.
LaRue stated that he is going to visit South Bend on an official this month sometime and I would think he is going to really think this decision through. Signing day, which is February 6th will be the day LaRue decides where he will play football next fall. Obviously he wasn’t very comfortable after a disappointing season out of USC and many of their recruits dropping like flies.
After looking at some film on this 4 star wide receiver that stands 5’10’’ 185 pounds what stands out the most is his ability to make guys miss, whether that is with his speed, agility, and sometimes you see pure power from LaRue. As a wide receiver you must be able to create separation from the defender with speed, footwork, and route running. Many college coaches that have evaluated him say that the preciseness of his route running is his best attribute. LaRue can stop on a dime and start up again very quickly, which adds to his ability to run great routes. The one aspect of his game that many people haven’t talked about is his ability to return kickoffs and punts. With George Atkinson III probably going to get the bulk of the carries next year you could see someone else taking over the return game. The great thing about LaRue is that on all of his returns I have watched he never dances, just makes quick cuts and makes guys miss.